Greenland is the world's largest island, but only a narrow strip of land between the Inland Ice and the sea is inhabitable. Yet, the Norse chose to settle here around ad 986. During the eleventh century ad, precontact Inuit people moved into Greenland from northern Alaska via Canada. Although the two cultures faced the same climatic changes during the Little Ice Age, the Inuit thrived, while the Norse did not, for multiple causes. The authors focus on one of these causes, the hitherto overlooked contribution of young children's learning strategies to societal adaptation. The detailed analysis of a large corpus of play objects reveals striking differences between the children's material culture in the two cultures: rich and diverse in the precontact Inuit material and more limited and normative in the Norse. Drawing on insights from developmental psychology, the authors discuss possible effects of play objects on children's future adaptability in variable climatic conditions.

This paper explores the concept of 'playables,' defined as tangible objects intentionally designed for immersive play, distinct from traditional utilitarian objects. It delves into how playables, unlike everyday items, transcend functionality, fostering creativity and curiosity in immersive play. It explores how playables differ from acknowledged design principles, drawing upon Dieter Rams and Don Norman. By recognizing the need for distinct design perspectives for playables, the paper contributes to unlocking their potential to enable wonder in immersive play experiences.

This study explored the influence of five toys (squeaky ball, non-squeaky ball, Nylabone chew, tug rope and Boomer ball) on the behaviour of 32 adult dogs housed in a rescue shelter. The dogs were exposed to each toy separately for six days, with an intervening period of one day between toys. The dogs' location in their kennels (front or back), activity (moving, standing, sitting or resting) and vocalisation (barking, quiet or other) were recorded over 4 h at 10 min intervals on Days 1, 3 and 5 during a control condition (no toy present) and during five experimental (toy) conditions. Whether or not the dogs were observed playing with the toys during the experimental conditions was also recorded. The dogs spent relatively little (<8%) of the overall observation time playing with the toys. The toys elicited varying degrees of interest, with dogs showing a preference for the Nylabone chew over the other toys. The dogs' interest in the toys waned over time, but the speed of habituation to the Nylabone chew was slower than to any of the other toys. The dogs' activity was significantly related to toy condition: dogs spent more time moving and less time standing during the Nylabone chew, squeaky ball and non-squeaky ball conditions than during any of the other conditions. It is suggested that the welfare of kennelled dogs may be slightly enhanced by the addition of suitable toys to their kennels. It is advised, however, that toys are rotated to encourage exploration and reduce habituation. The provision of other forms of environmental enrichment is also recommended.

Transport and accompanying mixing of pigs causes fights among pigs and stress resulting in decreased welfare and reduced meat quality. This study investigates the effect of toys available during transport and lairage on behaviour, stress responses, and meat quality of slaughter pigs. Cross-bred (Piétrain×Hypor) pigs (109·1±10·1 kg) were allocated to one of three treatments during transport and lairage: 1) no toys (control) 2) rubber toys and 3) balls. The rubber toy consisted of two fixed rubber sticks; the plastic ball was filled with pieces of maize, which became available for the pigs in small amounts by manipulating the ball. Per group of 11 pigs, two toys were provided. Totally, divided over 4 replicates, 144 pigs were involved, of which 72 were used for blood sampling and meat quality measurements. Five minutes scans during lairage revealed that treatment did not affect the percentage of pigs that lay (P=0·20), stood (P=0·83) or sat (P=0·12) and that in almost all scans at least one pigs was manipulating a ball, compared with half of the scans in which at least one animal was manipulating a rubber toy (P=0·02). However both toys resulted in a lower incidence of shoulder lesions compared with the control group (P=0·06; 31·1% and 28·9% of the pigs for the rubber toys and balls respectively, versus 51·1% for the control group). Blood sampling at sticking showed that pigs with the balls during transport and lairage tended to have lower cortisol concentrations (P=0·07) than pigs with the rubber toys. Also, a decrease in plasma lactate concentration was observed for these pigs in comparison with the control group (P=0·08), and a higher pH of the m. longissimus dorsi 45 min post mortem for the pigs with the balls was found than for the pigs with the rubber toys (P=0·01). These results indicate that enrichment of compartments during transport and lairage with balls reduced glycolysis in muscle resulting in a lower lactate production and a slower pH decline. The pH 45 min post mortem of the m. biceps femoris and the pH, electrical conductivity, colour, and water-holding capacity of the loin 48 h post mortem were not affected by treatment. In conclusion, environmental enrichment with toys during transport and lairage can decrease shoulder lesions and lower the pH decline 45 min post mortem, especially by provision of plastic balls filled with maize.